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Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Cherry Hill Wine Tasting at Chez Boet

The Willamette Valleyis an American Viticultural Area (AVA) inOregon. These were discussed in another Post. Briefly, AVAs are wine production areas designated by the U.S. Government. If a vintner claims to be from a particular AVA, 85% of the grapes used in their wine must be from there.

This area is nestled between the Pacific Ocean and the Cascade Mountains. This climate, and flooding that occurred at the end of the last Ice Age, has produced some extremely arable land. Again, though discussed in another Post, Terroir is the interaction of climate, geology and plant genetics. This area is know for it's superior terroir. As far as grapes go, the terroir in this area is similar to the Burgundy region of France. The Willamette Valley is known for it's wines, especially Pinot Noir. What really started the whole thing going in this area was Eyrie Vineyards. They scored 2nd in a prestigious blind taste competition in the Burgundy region of France in the 1970's. Fast forward to 2013, and this area produces world-class wines. Pinot grapes were explored in another Post.

Incidentally, Chez Boet is ground zero for Naples Originals, a consortium of about 40 member restaurants. This was discussed in another Post. One of the owners of this establishment is the organizer for this group. This individual has told me that the group was formed for marketing and philanthropic purposes.

I was fortunate to get to the tasting early to be able to talk to one of the vintners. During the winters, they stay in Southwest Florida.

About Me

I have started this blog, Southwest Florida Forks, as I want to share my dining and food experiences with you both textually and pictorially.I love food and photography and it is my hope that through my dining/food/traveling combined with photos
I can bring to you an accurate log of my experiences.A fork can be an
eating implement used to pick things up, as well as being a point where something disperses,
perfect for a blog. You can choose to use these postings as a guide, and if not, perhaps just see life through my lens.